Doncaster pensioner outraged over hospital failings

Kate Mason

A pensioner says she is disgusted after being left freezing cold on a hospital ward because she was denied extra blankets and pillows.

Doreen Seymour, aged 84, said the conditions at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, DRI, made her “blood boil” after she spent five days in hospital following a fall.

It really makes my blood boilwhen we don’t even have a pillow for a pensionerin hospital

Doreen Seymour

Mrs Seymour says she was left freezing cold after being told there were no extra blankets or pillows.

She said: “I was disgusted, I asked for an extra pillow and I was told they didn’t have any.

“I was freezing cold and asked for an extra blanket and they didn’t have one.

“Some of the patients in there didn’t even have a pillow or a blanket at all.

“It really makes my blood boil, what is the world coming too when we don’t even have a pillow for a pensioner in hospital.”

Mrs Seymour says more needs to be done by the government to improve facilities At Doncaster Royal Infirmary and hospitals across the country.

She said: “David Cameron should come to my house and I’ll take him to DRI and he can have a look at what’s going on there.

“I can’t praise the staff enough, despite the conditions they are working in they can’t do enough for you and always have a smile on their face and are cheerful, they are marvellous.

“It’s not fair that staff or patients should have to put up with this. More money needs to be spent on getting the basics right in hospitals, in this day and age we shouldn’t have to put up with conditions like this.”

Mrs Seymour was admitted to DRI on April 11 after knocking herself unconscious in a fall at her home in Minden Court, Bentley - she was discharged five days later.

Richard Parker, Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Quality at the Trust, said: “Like all hospitals, we try to ensure that all of our wards and departments are kept at a warm temperature to ensure the best possible environment for our patients to recover.

He added: “We have plenty of extra blankets and pillows which should be made available to patients if they are cold.

“The care and comfort of our patients is paramount to the Trust and if patients, or relatives, are concerned that ward staff have been unable to help them with a problem they can contact our Patient Advice Liaison Service (PALS) so that we can ensure that issues are dealt with and ensure something like this doesn’t happen again.”